| abstract
| - The 1982 war between Argentina and the UK over a bunch of currently British-owned islands in the South Atlantic. The Argentine military junta launched an invasion of the islands it called the Malvinas, thinking that the British military wouldn't be able to respond effectively (if they'd left it a year later, they wouldn't have been able to). Margaret Thatcher dispatched a Royal Navy task force, which arrived in May. Diplomatic efforts failed, as neither side was willing to back down. It's also possible that war was what both sides truly wanted, since it actually helped both sides politically-speaking. "The military junta" and Margaret Thatcher needed to regain their popularity, and fighting a war helps to boost a leader's popularity. The British Task Force retook the islands after an intense land, sea and air battle, which introduced the world to Exocet anti-shipping missiles and saw the Harrier dominate against Argentine Skyhawks. Fast Roping also made its debut here. Resulted in 255 British and 649 Argentine deaths, as well as those of three civilians. The British lost several ships, including three Type 42 Destroyers. The most notable Argentine loss was of the cruiser General Belgrano (which had survived the attack on Pearl Harbor as the American USS Phoenix) outside the pre-arranged war-zone to a British submarine - their navy played little part in the war after that. A useful and comprehensive website about the war can be found here.
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